6 AD
by EC-Chan
Summary: Imprisoned for twenty-six years, Padme has lost all sense of her identity. How will she recover? Or will she....? (this is basically what most likely isn't going to happen if she does not die in EP. 3 ^^;) r/r!
1. Caught

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Title: 6 A.D.  
  
Chapter 1: Caught  
  
Author: EC-Chan  
  
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Disclaimer: Own Star Wars I do not.  
  
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AN: I was writing 'Darkened Family' with Padme789 today, but she wouldn't go on..so I randomly decided to write this...it has nothing to do with it- I just really really really needed to write more star wars tonight -.-; and since Padme said I should post this I will ^^;  
  
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A woman cowered in the thick grimy corner of her unlit cell, hearing rather then seeing the approaching footsteps. They were coming for her. She knew this somehow innately. They were coming for HER. She trembled at the thought, her shaking hands clutching her sides and she fell in a heap, unable to control her agony..to keep it inside.  
  
They snorted when they saw her like that- a balled up heap on the floor, too weak to pull out of their firm uncaring grip as they hauled her to her feet and dragged her out of the cell, uncaring that her legs were far too weak to support her weight. Halls upon halls past her by, but she saw none of it. Her eyes had dimmed too much.. Her thoughts had dimmed too much. She would die. Or be tortured. Or perhaps even raped. But she didn't care.  
  
They were coming for her. She could still hear them stamping down the hall- could still feel the hard cold floor pressed to her cheek. Mentally she was still in that cell, her hands still clutching her arms. They were still coming. And then she was slammed down into a chair, a hard hot uncaring lamp shining into her wide eyes.  
  
She cried out, trying to reel away from the newfound pain, but found that she couldn't- her head was still firmly fixed in place. The light blinded her and she snarled at whoever hide behind it, her feet desperately trying to gain a firm hold of the ground as her chest surged forward, attempting to burst whatever binding held her back in such a place.  
  
She calmed after a few minutes of futile effort, though, and relaxed. The light lessened and she found herself staring into a large pale face of a well-manicured man. She gnashed her teeth at him, recognizing the face at once. The man who was responsible.. But that was all she knew.. All she remembered.  
  
She hadn't always been like this after all. Or maybe she had..  
  
"How long has it been since this one came?" The man turned to unseen others near him.  
  
"Twenty-six years one month and two days sir," a shadow replied. "Near the end of the Clone Wars."  
  
"And her excuse?"  
  
"She was seeking refugee from her husband, but she wouldn't tell us who sir," he seemed to be reading something. "The Emperor himself ordered her imprisonment but it was never recorded why."  
  
"I see," was all the man said before turning back to the woman, his large face widening into a sadistical smirk. She cowered from him, her back pressed as far back as the stiff chair would allow. Reaching out, his rough pudgy hand caressed her face, leaning in to coo in her ear, "My dear- the New Republic may have ordered for your eventual release, but the key word is eventual."  
  
She made no sign that she understood why he had said. And in all fact she really hadn't- it had been so long since she had heard actually words besides "Ge'up you trash and eat!" or "Latrine bitch! I don't got me all day here!" and she didn't even remember her own name.. Everything was gone. Everything..  
  
"Look at me when I'm talking to you," his voice held authority, but she merely blinked at him in an almost confusion. He sighed, stepping back. "This one has nothing left."  
  
"But..the New Republic!?" the voice was muffled, almost panicked.  
  
"The New Republic does not have to know- erase her records and let her loose," the man frowned. When the other man made no move to leave, he growled, "Are you questioning my orders?"  
  
"No sir!" The shadow said quickly. "But what do you mean 'let her loose'?"  
  
"There are enough nameless people on this planet my good man," the large burley man snorted. "What's one more added to the mix?"  
  
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Questions to answer:  
  
1) What in your honest to God opinion of this fic do you hold?  
  
2) Should I write more ^^?  
  
3) Should I somehow make this a Padme/Anakin romance?  
  
Even if you don't like this story at all please at least tell me that!!!!  
  
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	2. Teetering

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Title: 6 A.D.  
  
Chapter 2: Teetering  
  
Author: EC-Chan  
  
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Disclaimer: Own Star Wars I do not.  
  
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AN: Just to randomly explain the title as well as an important point this story takes place 6 years after the Emperor's death- I'm studying colanders in Latin right now and randomly decided that in the actual Galaxy they might keep track of their "new age" that way *shrugs* I was being random; And it's better then the other titles that I had come up with ^^;  
  
I just looked it up (holds up Vector Prime- I'm glad he added the stupid timeline thing now ^^;) and Leia and Han are married at this time and the twins are three years old..and this is a bunch of random info that you'll find out in the next couple chappies anyway; But there's the time period in case you cared ^^;  
  
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A thin line, the nothingness of air on both sides: to fall meant to drop for an oblivion, to walk meant pain and suffering and who knew what laid on the other side. Which was better? The unknown in front or the easing lazy painless drifting the abyss promised her?  
  
"Ma'am!" A thin hand reached out to her, but she shrunk back into the shadows, blinking herself back to her dark reality. Or what she thought was reality.. A grungy alleyway replacing what had used to be an even dirtier cell, soiled flags that once bore the planet's mural replaced chains. The empty loneliness of solitude was exchanged for the hustle and bustle of dirty smelly creatures that could more then possibly be worse off then she.  
  
She still saw herself in that cell, could still see the blinding light. But now there were flitting memories of colorful times that she didn't dare believe were true. Everything around her was a haze. It all ran together like thick rain on a dark bleary day. She could only make out so much...  
  
"Ma'am!" It was the same voice again, shaking her gently now. She blinked up at the boy, surprised to find that she had not moved away from him after all. Ma'am? The word rolled in her head heavily- she didn't quite understand it, but his insistent hand guided her to her feet.  
  
Without even realizing it, she found herself being led down the street and into a half rotted door. The boy urged her to sit down and she did so without much thought. She eyed the man sitting across from her without fear- something about his presence soothed her battered soul. She found herself staring into his pale blue eyes, memorizing every curve of his face..something about him made her heart beat strong again- and she somehow knew that life was once more worth living.  
  
She took a shaky step on the thin line, he was staring at her, calling her. The air around her didn't feel quite as pitiless. One step. Another. He smiled now, held out his hand, beaconing her. Only it wasn't the man who sat in front of her anymore. She stopped, frowning. He was different..older..but his presence held her, guided her. Once more she stepped towards him.  
  
"Ma'am," It was the man now speaking, not the boy. He was gazing at her curiously, and she blinked stupidly at him. That word again. She wondered- could it perhaps be what they called her? But she couldn't be sure.  
  
The boy frowned, "This is the one right? I found her for you- are you going to pay me?"  
  
The man held out his right hand towards the boy in a calming motion and picked up a strange looking devise [1] in his other. In an arc like motion he scanned her, nodding once at a halo of light and then turned back to the boy.  
  
"You've done well, how much did we agree on?"  
  
"50," The boy said, his face so controlled he looked like an animal about to jump on his prey if it made one false move.  
  
The man smiled, "50 credits it is then," counted them out and handed them to the boy, who got up and practically ran away, the money clutched tightly to his chest. She watched him in confusion, wondering why he was leaving her here with this man...this strange clean man.  
  
Now he turned his smile to her, holding out his hand, "I can only promise you that I'll do everything in my power to try to heal your mind, but will you come with me anyway?"  
  
She didn't understand him, but something in his voice led her to take that offered hand and he gently pulled her to her feet, smiling gently at her. She allowed him to whisk her away to an unknown destination, content that he was somehow tied into whatever would become of her. Or perhaps it was simply that she wasn't capable of doing much of anything to resist him at the moment.  
  
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[1]- The "device" is what they used when they found the Jedi Search series. It's supposedly what the Sith used to tell if you had Force sense or not- you scan the person and if a halo of light appears around them then they do. Padme789 assures me that Padme DOES have Force sense and although I'm too lazy to go find that out for myself, I'm assuming she's right in this fic at least. ^^; Well in practically all my SW fics, but that's beyond the point;  
  
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Thanks:  
  
Princess-Kinky, Renee (u have good "feelings" ^^;), PrincessSkywalkerOrgana, Anonym, Lanna, jedi7, Haunted, smeagol's preciousss, vader_girl05@hotmail.com, Angel of the Moons Of Iego, Kazzy, Q&R, LadyZ, Alyx Bradford, Leap of fate, Jaina (Yes ^^; U're on here too!), and aninonymous (who holds a special place in my heart for being the first reviewer ;p)  
  
for reviewing- I love you guys!!! ^^; You were all very helpful and answered my questions, I'm still not sure if I'm going to have Darthy in it yet, but if I do it's going to be because I randomly found a way to make his survival work; If anyone has a suggestion on that I'd be more then happy to listen ^^; Thanks for reading and REVIEWING!!!!  
  
The Anakin's ghost helping Padme thing is a really really good idea ^^; At this point I'll probably use it, thank you- the Anonym and Princess-Kinky ^^;  
  
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Random Notes:  
  
I will update this ficcy every Friday or Saturday ^^:  
  
Any and all comments are, as always, greatly appreciated ^__^  
  
Also: I'm looking for a beta reader for this ficcy, so if someone's willing please email me: darthyschosen@aol.com. Thank you ^^;  
  
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	3. In

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Title: 6 A.D.  
  
Chapter Title: In  
  
Author: EC-Chan  
  
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Thanks Lady Vader for beta reading.  
  
Note: I changed Luke's point of view at the end completely and so it has not been edited.  
  
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Disclaimer: Own Star Wars I do not.  
  
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AN: I messed up- the twins are 1 ;;; and they won't be in this chapter because of that mistake ^^;;; They'll be in a later chapter though- I'm trying to transition to an actual story plot thingy;  
  
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Hands. Cold rotten hands: aged and decaying, young and smooth. Nothing mattered. THEY didn't matter. Flutters of mincing butterflies, and then iron clasping on soft smooth bread. A cry- she did not know if it came from her own mouth or from some unknown source beyond her blurry gaze.  
  
It came rushing back to her, that cold hard floor. She shivered unexpectedly at the darkness, a cry welling up behind her long disused lips. Something stirred next to her, alerting her that she wasn't alone. There was something there- something that she couldn't quite remember, yet knew so well. Her head hurt. Her body was too heavy.  
  
And then she remembered the men- the light, daylight. She remembered the boy, his soft youthful hand guiding her, and then finally the clean man and his senior. Both she knew so well..both just outside her grasp. She felt that if only she could jump up and tap it then it would fall down on her like overripe fruit on a tree. A tree..  
  
What was a tree?  
  
Blue eyes met brown, and he smiled at her confusion, reaching out and patting her hand gently in condolence. "Do you want to talk about it?" His voice was warm and inviting. She blinked at him, not understanding what he said but found herself wanting to. More then wanting: wishing- searching her broken mind vainly to place the words.  
  
"Can you understand me?" He asked more slowly this time. She frowned now, blinking back tears. "I'd like to search your memory, if that's okay with you."  
  
~Search your memory~  
  
She jolted as if struck by lightening and the electricity was still buzzing down her spine. She felt herself tremble uncontrollably, shaking in what- fear? But.this man had done nothing to harm her. Nothing in the least..  
  
~Searching your memory~  
  
Dark, cackling words flooded back to her, twisting her insides in a slow torture that she didn't think she could bear: the same words spoken as a stagnating blow. She whimpered, clutching her head and shuffling backwards into the wall, burying it into her lap.  
  
"No! No, please no! Don't!" She cried out, rocking back and forth. She lashed out, attempting to ward off unseen enemies, landing blow against countless blow on an invisible force, but it seemed to be too much for her. "Anakin," she mumbled in defeat, crumbling to the ground in a disheveled heap. "Anakin.."  
  
It was the one name she could remember.  
  
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Luke Skywalker sank heavily into the pilot's seat of the passenger ship [1], beyond tired. The last few days had been an almost torture for him. First the Force had given him a vision of this woman who needed his help, and then he had spent literally days searching through any and all information with Threepio's help, only to visit three or four planets before finally finding her on Garqi [2].  
  
He wasn't even quite sure why it seemed so important to find this broken woman, but who was he to question the Force? He knew he would find out soon enough and there wasn't anything he could do in the mean time. There was no way that he would abandon this woman once finding her. Besides he had already made arrangements with Mara Jade to take care of her.  
  
The only thing that really bothered him at this moment was the fact that he had just left her in a crumpled heap, still whimpering the same name over and over like a ceaseless broken record. And not just any name: his father's name, a name that sent strange pangs of emotions coursing down his spine.  
  
Anakin. His father's name, the deceased Dark Lord of the Sith's proper name, and above all else a great Jedi's Knight's name. But she couldn't be referring to him..could she? He didn't want to think that it was possible, yet he knew only too well that it was only too likely.  
  
For one insane moment he felt like pounding his head on the control panel in front of him. It was a childish impulse and he refrained from fulfilling it, instead keying in the Com system and typing in the code Mara had given him. He had forgotten to tell her that he was on his way.  
  
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[1]- I tried to look it up on the internet, but I couldn't find out what they call a ship like that -.-; I don't like vehicles too much so I never really paid attention... so if anyone knows tell me in a review or something please ^^;;  
  
[2]- This is a planet controlled by the Imperials- it mostly has farm land, but I'm thinking it must have some sort of city where the Imperials rule (it's ruled by a governor I think.. I looked this up but forgot- it's not too important) and that was where Padme was.  
  
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Thanks:  
  
Lady Vader (*winks back*), AznGurl, Kazzy, lynx and vader, Lanna, padme789 (LUKE AND THE COOKIES NOW!!!), Mariko Duknic, Renee, Leap of fate (*pats on head*), Princess-Kinky (Heehee ^^:),dreamingofani, Jaina, and GoldenRose.  
  
For reviewing ^^;;;  
  
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Mariko Duknic- LOL- yes you're right, Padme doesn't have force abilities; I was being stupid..yet again ^^; I asked Padme789 and she was like "all I said was Yoda said Luke's mother was strong in the force" or something like that; And so I decided (just to make this work) the scanner picked up on it because she's strong in the force and just can't control it. I don't understand how the scanner works to begin with and I don't think it's right, but it's in the books so *shrugs*. And don't worry Anakin's still dead and will remain dead. ;p But it P/A works still if I do what I'm thinking about doing; But I might not ^^:  
  
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Random question:  
Would you guys like a Mara/Luke???  
I've decided on how I'm going to put in the Vader/Padme but I'm not going to say- I could change my mind again; I dunno about Anakin's spirit coming back to her.. We'll see. I really like that idea. ^^;  
  
And besides that I will make the chappy a lot longer next time- I'm just so busy right now *dies*.  
  
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	4. Time

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Title: 6 A.D.  
  
Chapter 4: Time  
  
Author: EC-Chan  
  
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Thanks Lady Vader for beta reading!  
  
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Disclaimer: Own Star Wars I do not.  
  
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AN: I'm sorry about not updating last week. It was my spring break and I was dragged to a million places. I thought that I would be able to write and post this fic, but I never got the chance to. I'm not even sure if it was possible. Sorry for the delay.  
  
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The woman stepped off of the line, her brown eyes focused on only one thing: the man in front of her. His hand was still held out, urging her forward to whatever mysteries lie beyond. It was old and callused, but she took it firmly in her own with a familiarity that surprised herself. He smiled down at her, pulling her towards the wall, and she frowned at it uncomprehendingly.  
  
"It's a door," He said, smiling softly at her.  
  
She stared at him, "A door?"  
  
"Open it," He motioned her forward, and she hesitantly took a step towards the door. A foreboding feeling stopped her in her tracks: there was something awful in whatever laid beyond. She knew it somehow. Something that was better left alone.  
  
Turning back to the man, she shook her head helplessly, "I.can't."  
  
"You have to," The man said, his crystal blue eyes beseeching her brown. He tried to reach for her now, but the woman reeled away from him, shaking her head profusely.  
  
"I won't," She said, her head bent low and her hands clutched to her heart. "I won't go in there. I don't want to remember," Her head shot up and she glared at him now. "Bad things happen in there."  
  
He stared at her imploringly, his eyes almost panicky as he reached out one last time, his hand thin and shaking: one last attempt. She slapped it away, ignoring the flash of pain and distress that flitted across his face.  
  
"I WON'T!" She cried her throat painfully constricting from its long disuse. And suddenly she found herself in a strange disorientating place. It was small like her cell but bright like the room she had been taken to before.with that man.  
  
~ My dear- the New Republic may have ordered for your eventual release, but the key word is eventual. ~  
  
That voice.the hard cold voice of the man she recognized- that face staring down at her.laughing, laughter that never ended. Pain- he brought pain. She clutched her arms around herself shivering at the thoughts. No. She wouldn't open the door. She wouldn't ever.  
  
"You won't what?" A woman on the far side of the room straightened from her reclined position, her emerald green eyes and dark jumpsuit contrasting the bright pallor of the room. When she was given no response except a confused look, she merely sighed. "I'm Mara Jade- the man that brought you here was Luke Skywalker. You got a name?"  
  
"A.. name?" Her voice was painfully soft and thick.  
  
"Yeah, a name," She said, frowning at the other woman. "What do people call you?"  
  
"Call.. Me?" The words were only making a half sense, but she struggled to think of an answer. What people called her- what people called her.. shouldn't this woman know? No. That wasn't right at all. But what had that man called her- that strange man? It was no use- she couldn't understand.  
  
"I'll be back later," The woman said.. Mara? Is that what she meant? That she was to be called Mara? She was too confused for the other woman's departure to register in her mind.  
  
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Mara Jade frowned as she entered the cafeteria, her frigid green eyes searching for the familiar annoying figure. Of all things Luke Skywalker could dump into her lap it had to be something like this- a half-dead woman who couldn't even remember to speak? And he expected her to know what to do.. Well, Sithspawn to that!  
  
The only reason she had agreed to this was because she had experienced the same kind of dreams Skywalker had, and she could understand why he would search so feverously for a woman he didn't even know- the dreams were convincing. More then convincing- it was almost as if she was being forced to do something by a nagging mother and the annoyance would not go away until she completely the task. And like a sulking child that had finally given in, she stamped into the cafeteria.  
  
"Skywalker!" She gritted her teeth in annoyance. Clearly this was all his fault. She may not know how at the moment, but these things always were. A figure in the far corner jumped up from his seat, a light smile crossing his clean-shaven features, and she could only frown at him as he sauntered over to her.  
  
"So what do you think?" He asked, clearly talking about the woman whom he had brought.  
  
"You didn't tell me half as much as you should've," She growled at him, and turned towards the door. "Come on- we'll talk in my office."  
  
It was a short walk, and a very silent one. Luke had sensed that she was irritated with him and knew better then to try to start any conversation with this fiery haired woman. He could judge Mara's moods well: which was a survival tactic he had learned when she was still half convinced she'd be better off killing him- not that she fully convinced not to now.. She opened the blast door and motioned for him to go in in front of her, which he did without hesitation. She turned on the lights and he sat down in the chair facing her desk.  
  
"She doesn't understand basic," Mara commented as she sat down. "Do we even know she did once or are we just confusing her more?"  
  
"I don't know," Luke intoned, bowing his head.  
  
"Skywalker," Mara growled under her breath. "Did you figure out anything about her? Did you even try?"  
  
"A boy found her for me on the streets- I don't think anyone knows how long she was wandering around there," Luke said. "No one really cares about time on that planet.. But they did think that she was odd or so the boy said."  
  
"Obviously," Mara growled, "she hasn't been there for long if what you're saying is correct. She's too..lifeless to be able to take care of herself. Any idiot could see that," She frowned at him. "So, therefore; she must have come from somewhere else. Even without any information about the planet you could have figured that out at least and acted on it."  
  
"Information on the planet?"  
  
"I had Ghent hack into Garqi's computer system," Mara leaned back. "There's not a lot of information known about it besides that it's an Imperial planet and owns quite an extensive prison which holds- I should say held- prisoners of war. The New Republic has ordered for all prisoners' eventual release, and it's more then likely that she was in this prison. Ghent found out a lot more information of course- I doubt much would interest you. He downloaded all of the prisoner records so it's just a matter of time before we sift through them and find the right one. If there is a right one- it's a possibility that the Imperials may have deleted her record before we got to it of course."  
  
"Why would they delete her records?" Luke asked.  
  
"Your sister placed the orders so she would know more specifics then I could tell you, but according to what Ghent's found out all prisoner's were sent on a transport ship to some world," She frowned. "But the guy who runs the prison's smart- he knows that if he shows the New Republic any of the prisoners that were too mistreated then he would be like.. Well you fighting that rancor in Jabba's Palace intentionally."  
  
"Okay.. Do you want me to go back and talk to those who were in charge of the prison?" Luke asked, frowning. "And that wasn't intentional."  
  
"You could have saved us the trouble if you had done things correctly to begin with Skywalker," She frowned at him and he suddenly felt like he was back on Tatooine receiving a disapproving look from his teacher for skipping an important class. "I swear- what did Obi Wan Kenobi teach you?  
  
"But I didn't know all that about Garqi before.." Luke searched desperately for a better excuse, but could find none. She was right of course- what had him been thinking not finding out who had been taking care of her. It was incredibly obvious to him now that she could never have taken care of herself and just a few simple questions.. He shook his head: what was done was done. There was no point in thinking about it now.  
  
Mara sighed. "I suppose I have to go with you too or you're bound to mess something up again. I swear Skywalker- you cause more problems then your worth sometimes."  
  
Luke couldn't help but smile. "Does anyone but Ghent know about her?"  
  
"Besides Karrde and everyone else here? No- they'll take care of her for us while we're gone," Mara began jotting down some notes. "You may want to contact Leia or Han or someone else you trust. We may be gone for a while."  
  
"If it's possible," Luke said calmly. "I'd like to keep this just between the people who already know- at least until we know more about her."  
  
Mara raised an eyebrow, but decided it was better not to ask. Instead she cleared her throat; "Well I have a lot of things I have to finish up here before tomorrow. Meet me by the Jade's Fire in the morning."  
  
He nodded absentmindedly and turned to leave, a frown lining his face as if he was deep in thought. Mara watched him go, unable to keep a small smile from twitching at her lips- same old Skywalker.  
  
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Luke punched in the code to the blast door, smiling thinly as he saw the woman sitting on the floor on the opposite wall, her dark eyes focused steadily on him. It was like dealing with an extremely fragile child.. And for some reason he felt more bothered by this thought then anything else at the moment. He shook the feeling off in a silent deliberation.  
  
"Hello again." He said softly, smiling gently down at her. She stared back at him, her eyes suddenly almost vacant. With a sigh, Luke sat down on his knees, holding his hand out palm up. She stared at it weakly and then slowly- very slowly- imitated his exact movements. Seemingly surprised by her own actions, she stared down at their strange position.  
  
Luke couldn't help but smile more broadly now- he was actually making some progress.. At least he thought he was. He hadn't really meant to prove anything at all actually- it was a position that Leia had showed him a long time ago, telling him that he should assume it while greeting some random species- he didn't even remember which one it was anymore.. But she had responded in the proper way which had to mean.. something. Right? Okay so maybe she had just gotten the idea from his movements and was following his lead or something.. But still..  
  
He was still sorting through his thoughts when she jerked away from him, her brown eyes wide as she shakily stood up, stepping back from him and cowering to the wall. Cautiously, he stood up as well just in time to here her whimper. "No- I won't open it. I don't want to remember! Leave me be.. Please.. Go!"  
  
"Calm down," He said soothingly, but she looked only more frightened at the sound of his voice. Automatically he reached out to the force, using it to calm her down and she crumpled to the floor, still trembling. He bent down once again and took her hands in his own, forcing her to look into his eyes. As much as he hated to do this too her he had to know. He might not have known why he had decided to visit her when he entered the room, but it was glaringly obvious now. "Please tell me who Anakin is."  
  
For a moment she simply stared at him, and then a dawning look crossed her face and she whispered, "Anakin?"  
  
"Yes Anakin," He nodded encouragingly, not quite sure if she would understand what he was asking of her. "Is he by any chance Anakin Skywalker who later became Darth Vader?"  
  
She cringed at the last name, her eyes loosing focus and she looked at the ground. "Anakin.. Anakin is.. I.. The man-!"  
  
"What man?" Luke asked, squeezing her hands reassuringly. "I'm sorry, but I have to know this. You see- Anakin Skywalker was my father."  
  
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AN: This chapter is double the amount I usually give you. I might make the chapters a little longer then this in the future- I'm not sure. I keep on getting stuck in places with this ficcy because I don't know what things are called..never really paid much attention; So it's taking forever ^^; And I still have a research paper to write *falls over*  
  
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Thanks:  
  
Leap of fate, I, GoldenRose, Kazzy, lynx amd vader, AznGurl, smeagol's preciousss, Renee, BlackWings or Master Solo, and Lady Vader  
  
For reviewing- I love you guys!  
I: fyi- AD stands for 'ano domini' or somethin like that, which i think is 'year of our lord', not 'after death'... other than my obsessive nitpickyness it's fun so far tho...  
  
Yupyup ^^; I know this- I take latin and all three of the teachers I've had love yelling at us about it; Annus is year, Dominus lord- u put on different endings though (the endings u have;;). I wasn't going by our calendar though. Before the Gregorian calendar (this is the one we use) there was the Julian one which went by the first Roman building and ours goes by Christ's birth. I just figured that if there ever would be a universal calendar in Star Wars then they might change things like Gregory did to the Julius one when they became the New Republic and because the Emperor's death is the beginning of..well the New Republic, then I thought that it would make sense if they went by that as their starting point and so it would really be ADE but I shortened it to AD..it's all because I was being lectured about calendars for an hour and a half and trying to remember it all and then wanted to think up a title but couldn't come up with a good one.  
  
GoldenRose- Of course you're right about the way to make it Vader/Padme- I'm just trying to decide how I would like to do the flashback and if I even want to do a flashback and I think I probably do..  
  
lynx amd vader- that's not good that you and Darthy are one person.. *shakes head* how on earth did that one happen;;?  
  
BlackWings or Master Solo- Hm.. I've been to that site once but I never went back; I have this bad habit of doing things like that, sorries..and that was a long time ago so u kinda confused me there ^^;;;; I should probably go back to that website though sometime..when I actually have time;  
  
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	5. She

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Title: 6 A.D.  
  
Chapter 4: She  
  
Author: EC-Chan  
  
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Thank you Lady Vader for beta'ing. I luv ya.

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Disclaimer: Own Star Wars I do not.  
  
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AN: Sorry this is so late- poor Lady Vader got sick *pats her on head* (hope you feel better btw; kinda suck if u didn't). I should've posted this a lot sooner but I had a research paper due this week and I got really sick myself, so it slipped my mind….; Please forgive me. (And I just realized I left it at somewhat of a cliffy;;; that's even worse…;)

What's in Italics is a flashback- so don't get confused ;p.  
  
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_~You see- Anakin Skywalker was my father. ~_

His words hung in the air above her for a moment and then slowly drifted down, flitting into her head like whirling shrilling music that she could not stop. She did not know what he meant, yet did at the same time. For a moment she saw that man again holding out his hand, but he was gone before his presence could register in her mind, replaced by a different man this time: a man that she had not seen for a long while.

 Don't be a fool Padme- not even **you** can turn him back. Nothing can! Once a Jedi goes down the path of the dark side forever will it rule over his destiny.

His blue eyes stared at her with an open intensity that made her shudder, her back slamming uncomfortably into the wall, but the man didn't go away. Instead she heard a soft, determined voice that seem to be coming from her own mouth reply: _Even so- it's my duty to at least try. Don't you see that Obi Wan? No. Of course you wouldn't- even now you still can't see around the "Jedi Code" or whatever you want to call it! _

The man's face clenched at her words, but after a deep breath he relaxed again. His voice was calm, but no less severe: _ And there's a good reason for that. Look where it got your husband! This is as much your fault as it is mine or even his. _

 I know. That's why I must go.

He stared at her for a minute, a half frown lining his mouth and then he whipped around, his back to her now. With uncharacteristic anger, he spat:  _Fine- do what you want, but you're wasting your life. You have a child to think about too, you know. _

_Yes because you're already taken one away haven't you? _

The man whirled around once more, his mouth open to reply, but he was fading away again- his voice, though, still rang in her ears as she became aware of someone desperately shaking her back to consciousness. _Padme- you know that we couldn't keep them together. Weren't you the one who agreed with me in the first place?_

She slowly opened her large almond eyes to find a face hovering close to her own- he looked so much like that man: so familiar. Delicately, she reached out towards him, her shrunken skin contacting his own. He started, a look of shock spreading across her face and she looked away immediately- this was wrong. Somehow she knew that this was wrong: she had no right to touch him.

"Leia," She allowed the name to roll out of her mouth, not knowing exactly what it meant. The only thing she knew at this moment was that somehow she had failed the owner of this name. Somehow she had ruined things beyond all chance of redemption. She didn't want to remember- she didn't **want** to remember. The man was standing in front of her again, a small smile of encouragement held out to her. She looked past him, cringing at the door, which was now ajar. "I don't want to remember," She whispered to herself, her voice choking.

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AN: Okay the following is spawned from Palpatine´s Hand suggestion. I cannot believe that I didn't think of Luke recognizing the resemblance myself .; *gives Palpatine's Hand a really big cookie*

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Luke reeled away from the woman when he heard the name. Leia. She had said Leia….and oh by the love of the Force how could he be so incredibly stupid? Now that he thought of it….this woman- didn't she look like an older version of Leia? Albeit a much older version of his sister, which was why he didn't recognize it before now- who could with all of the years of dirt and grim pasted to her face anyway?

But now that someone had helped her bathe- why hadn't he recognized the resemblance as soon as he walked into the room? Because he was preoccupied of course: preoccupied and not using half his brain. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair, trying to calm himself down and think rationally.

He didn't want to jump to conclusions, but he also knew that he had to be able to accept the truth- any truth- even if he found out he was wrong later. The Force had led him to this woman, she had cried out for Anakin, and when he asked her about his father she had been still for a few moments and then cried out Leia's name….not much to go by. But if you add in the resemblance….even if Mara might decide the evidence is still too sketchy, it was obvious to him- this woman was none other then Padme Naberrie Skywalker. His mother.

He didn't know how exactly he felt with that conclusion. He had always wanted to meet his mother: dreaming that she would come to him like a savior on Tatooine, though now that he thought about it there wasn't much to save him from there. Then later becoming jealous of Leia's memory of her….as slight of a memory as it was. There was always this deep horrible longing when he thought of his parents, and after meeting his father he had always wondered what his mother was like.

It was stupid really to wonder about that. Leia had described her as kind and gentle, but Yoda had never really said much of anything about her- he had avoided the topic as much as possible. But the fact remained that they knew- all of them knew what she was like and he didn't. No one but Leia bothered to say anything about her at all and that was only because he asked her about it. It was stupid of him to be jealous and to think there was any meaning behind it. Childish and immature and definitely unbefitting for a supposed Jedi Knight, but he couldn't stop himself. Of course that was not true at all and he winced as Yoda's wise words came back to him-

~_Do or do not. There is no try._ ~

For one moment his mind rebelled against those words as if he had been suddenly been teleported back into time when he didn't **BELIEVE** those words. With a sigh, he stood up. He knew what he should do now- immediately go and call Leia on the Com system and explain everything and then (or at least) go to Mara and explain who this woman exactly was, but he was filled with a strange urge not to. To simply walk away from this woman, get his bag, and leave with Mara to find clues that would only prove what he already knew. Clues he perhaps didn't even want to know.

He did straighten eventually, but he did not turn from this woman….his mother. He simply stood there, considering his choices, knowing without a doubt he should staunch out his impure thoughts, not allowing them to burn in his head any longer then necessary, but he didn't move- didn't think. Maybe he was done thinking for a while. A long while.

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Mara watched with only marginal interest as Luke Skywalker strode towards her from the building that she had come to think of hers, though in all honesty belonged to Talon Karrde. He looked different- his gait was lighter and years seemed to be shaven off of his face, leaving him looking as young as when she first saw him in Jabba's Palace. When he moved closer, a light that seemed to have been turned on in his eyes took her aback.

She couldn't stop watching him as they entered the ship- even after he raised an eyebrow at her and asked, "What?" She couldn't even bring herself to answer him, and he had eventually turned back around and almost grumpily punched in their coordinates. Maybe she was just imagining things, she thought to herself, but couldn't find much hope in that belief.

"I'm going to sleep," She heard herself say, and then floated to her room. It was a strange thing to think, but during the last few minutes she had been with Luke he had felt…..wrong….it was almost like she was back to the time where she was the Emperor's Hand and had just spent a few terse minutes by Darth Vader's side. But of course Luke wasn't Darth Vader, and he definitely would do all in his power not to become another Darth Vader so there must be something wrong with her. She must need sleep.

  
Yes. That was it- she needed sleep.

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She awoke to find a pale face squinting at her through the darkness. Gasping, she bolted upright, her hand automatically fastening onto her blaster only to find it gone. Then as her vision focused she let out a sigh in relief, "By the Force Skywalker- don't do that! You're liable to get yourself killed someday and I won't take responsibility for it."

"I took that into consideration," Luke said, his face blank. She had been about to search frantically around in her sheets for her missing weapon, but her eyes focused on what the man facing her was holding. 

"What are you playing at?" She hissed, frowning when she realized that not a look of remorse but a smirk of amusement played itself across his face. "Skywalker- what's WRONG with you?"

"Nothing," he shrugged, looking suddenly bored. "Nothing at all."

And then he flitted out of the room, leaving her to herself. She shuddered uncontrollably. What had gotten into him? Sithspawn- did this mean that she did not just have one insane person to deal with but two now? When would this nightmare end?

Maybe she could casually drop him off on Courasant or something and let his sister deal with him. He wasn't exactly her responsibility and there really was no point in her wasting all this time to help him…. But then hadn't she agreed not to contact his sister just the other day? Although that wasn't exactly a binding agreement, she didn't really see him forgiving her for it anytime in the near future. Not that she actually cared. And besides- it was his own fault.

Stealing her blaster, she gritted her teeth in annoyance. What was the point of THAT? Or a better question would be did he HAVE a reason behind that. But then Skywalker always had reason for doing everything and the same reason at that- to follow the Force, the teachings of both his masters, and above all else try not to make the same mistakes as his father….or was that just what she translated his actions as?

None of that matter anyway. What mattered was he was acting incredibly odd and she had to, at the very least, find out why. With firm resolve, she untangled herself from her bed and walked out the door, allowing Luke's familiar sense to guide her to where he was.

*

"Waddy!" Jacen cried out with his slurred one year old tongue, his arms held high in the air as he toddled over to where his father had just came in. Jaina giggled, her pudgy hands trying vainly to throw the blocks they gripped away from her.

Han Solo smiled at his two children, picking Jacen up and swinging him around in the air, before securing him in his muscular arms, and greeted their caretaker with a smirk, one eyebrow raised appreciatively in the air.

"I taught him a new word," Winter smiled demurely.

"You're doing a good job with them," Han said awkwardly. Winter was the mother of these children in all but name. She taught them everything, saw them the most, probably knew every expression that had ever crossed their tiny little faces, and he was jealous of her for it. If he thought that he could even make a rudimentary father then he would force Leia to let him keep them nearby. But he couldn't, since it would put even more of a strain on Leia then there was already and she couldn't bear it. He could see that in her eyes, though she never would admit it. And besides that they weren't safe with them anyway- there was no way for Han to protect them. He smiled at Winter. "I just finished an errand for Leia and thought that I would stop by."

Winter nodded understandingly, turned, and left. Han blinked at the empty space she had just vacated and then shrugged his broad shoulders, turning back to children. It was a little over an hour later when she came back into the room, to find the two children snuggled close on each side of Han as he lounged a bit uncomfortably, yet peacefully on a fluffy stained blue couch.

"Master Solo [1]- there's a call for you," She said and he nodded. She softly picked up Jaina, who had been gently sucking her thumb, and Han followed her with Jacen into the room. Placing them down, he then followed her to where the Com system was set up.

- Han – It was Leia, and she looked strangely relieved to see him. – Luke left a couple of days ago, but refused to tell me why. -

"So?" Han asked, not really seeing what the big deal was.

- He hasn't contacted me since. – Leia frowned. – And he won't respond to any of my calls to his X-Wing. Han- I'm worried. He….his sense doesn't feel right. –

"His….what?" Han asked, a little dazed.

- His sense. – Leia said. – I told you about this before….at least I tried to. But something's wrong Han. Please just trust me on this. -

"Okay," Han said soothingly. "What do you want me to do?"

- Threepio said he thinks that Luke went to Garqi- that's the Imperial planet that just surrender to us, but I don't know why he would go there. -

"Okay…." Han said slowly, not knowing whether he liked where this conversation was going or not. "You want me to go there don't you?"

She gave him a look and he sighed in defeat.

"Could I perhaps stay here for at least one more day?"

- Han…. -

"Don't worry about it," He grinned roguishly. "I'll find him for you. Who knows what that kid got himself into this time."

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[1]- I have no idea what she calls him .; I read all of the Star Wars books a couple years ago (excluding New Jedi Order) and I seriously cannot remember Winter ever talking to Han or anyone else…. v.v; So if anyone knows PLEASE tell me!

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Thanks

Jaina (sorry for forgetting you last time), Rose Black (well you got a page more out of me….^^;), chocolatequeen (thank u ^^), Starwarsfan68, Lady Vader, dreamingofani, Leap of fate, Palpatine´s Hand, Moey, Renee, Kazzy, Princess Kinky, and ti-body_luv

For reviewing! I love you guys!

Leap of fate- Hm….Yes what a very evil person you are *twitches*. Thank you for the links, seriously- they help a lot ^^; I've actually been using a bunch of different sources and annoying Padme789 with random questions hehe. Hope you liked this chappy as well ^^.

Moey- "the force just likes her" hm….now doesn't that sound interesting o.O; got a strange image of a puppy dog with that one ^^;. I'm in Latin II too only I'm going to fail it….I moved so I'm completely lost in it now, but I'll shut up about it;. I can read it…. *helpless shrug* Now I am thoroughly confused about what exactly Yoda says and it's all Padme789's fault *kicks her* so now I'll read that book and find out myself. And I am tell u a bunch of useless information, sorry ^^;.

Kazzy- A lot of people take latin, or at least I've been seeing a lot of people saying they've taken/take latin lately ^^;. But I'm glad you like my Mara characterization, I'm not quite sure how to write these characters, because I'm so used to writing Dragonball Z….

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So the plot thickens….sort of ^^;. I won't be making Luke go evil in this story unless anyone convinces me too….. I'm starting to see where this story is going, but I can change my mind too easily in this stage. So if you would like Luke to be evil tell me, but I probably won't. I hope you like how this is going, btw ^^;

All suggestions/comments/complaints always welcome!

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